HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam - Cambodia trade and investment promotion forum opened in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Friday, providing updated information on new trade policies for enterprises of the two countries and creating opportunities to increase business.

The forum was part of efforts to help the two countries reach the target of US$5 billion trade value in the future.

Chairman of the Vietnam Confederation of Entrepreneurs Cao Sỹ Kiêm said the forum aimed to help businesses reach ministries and agencies of Cambodia, seek partners and set up joint ventures, contributing to trade and investment promotion activities between the two countries, towards a stable and prosperous common market in the region and in the world.

Vietnamese Ambassador in Cambodia Vũ Quang Minh said that enterprises of the two countries had good conditions to develop business as Cambodia had successfully organised the national polls of the 6th mandate of the National Assembly, with victory for the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP).

He said Cambodia was rapidly developing with a high economic growth rate of 7 per cent annually on average from 2012 to 2017 and security and social safety were ensured. Relations between Việt Nam and Cambodia had been lifted by the two countries’ leaders and had secured remarkable developments, especially in recent times.

“However the two sides still have a lot of untapped potential. Through this forum, I hope that representatives of the Cambodian ministries will provide updated information on the country’s new investment and trade policies, recognising and answering problems for enterprises. At the same time, enterprises of the two countries will have the opportunity to learn, exchange and connect with partners, turning the potential and strengths of each country into real projects in the coming time,” said Minh.

Dr. Sar Senera, Personal Assistant to the Secretary General of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), said that to attract Vietnamese investors, the CDC had signed many co-operation documents with the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Việt Nam and granted licences to many investment projects of Vietnamese enterprises in the recent time, strengthening advising the Government to adjust and promulgate new policies, creating favorable conditions for foreign investors, including Vietnamese enterprises.

Through these conditions, Vietnamese enterprises have expanded their investments and now become the biggest trade partner of Cambodia in ASEAN, he added, saying that this reflected Vietnamese investors’ confidence in Cambodia’s political stability and economic development.

He said that although the world economy was facing new difficulties due to the impact of the US-China trade war, the Cambodian market’s openness made it a profitable market for Vietnamese businesses.

At the forum, representatives of the CDC, the Ministry of Commerce and Chamber of Commerce of Cambodia fielded queries and took note of feedback from Vietnamese firms concerning their operations in the country.
Last year, Việt Nam – Cambodia trade hit $3.8 billion, increasing by 29 per cent year-on-year. In the January-July period of this year, the figure stood at $2.7 billion, up 18.7 per cent compared with the same period last year.
In terms of investment, Việt Nam has 206 projects in Cambodia worth $3.02 billion in total, making it one of the top five foreign investors of the country. Cambodia, meanwhile, has so far injected $58.1 million in 18 projects in Việt Nam.

The forum was jointly organized by the Trade Office of the Vietnamese Embassy, the Vietnam Confederation of Entrepreneurs, Intellectual Property and Creativity Magazine and Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia Association for Economic Cooperation Development in collaboration with the CDC, the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce and the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce. — VNS